Alfonso Frank Gomez, 38 is kissed and hugged by his older sister Margaret Barajas in a conference room of the Orange County District Attorney's office inside the Santa Ana Superior Courthouse. Gomez was hoping a judge would let him out of prison, on parole, after new evidence -- uncovered by Santa Ana police detectives during an investigation of a separate 1996 gang killing -- cast &#8220;grave doubts&#8221; on the accuracy of the testimony from the two eyewitnesses that identified him as the shooter in a 1996 gang-related murder. Gomez has been in custody for 16 years since his arrest, and 14 years since his conviction. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SANTA ANA – Two survivors of a car-to-car gunbattle between two gangs in May of 1996 picked Alfonso Frank Gomez as one of the shooters from of a photo lineup.

Gomez has been incarcerated ever since, serving a sentence of 41 years to life for murder and for convictions connected to two other gang encounters in 1996. He was not scheduled for parole consideration for decades.

But Friday, an Orange County Superior Court judge dismissed the murder case after a defense attorney filed a motion contending that newly discovered evidence provided by the District Attorney's Office contradicts the identification provided by the two survivors of the gunfight.

Deputy District Attorney Larry Yellin said new evidence uncovered by Santa Ana and Fullerton police detectives during a separate cold-case investigation into a different gang-related killing cast "grave doubts" on the accuracy of the testimony from the two surviving witnesses of the late-night gunbattle.

Without the eyewitness testimony, Yellin said, prosecutors can not proceed with a new trial.

Superior Court Judge David Hoffer then dismissed the murder case Friday afternoon on Gambale's motion, and resentenced Gomez on the two other gang cases to nine years and eight months to life in prison, making Gomez eligible for parole immediately.

'That's the appropriate thing to do," Hoffer said.

Gomez, who was 21 when he was arrested in 1996, dabbed at his eyes with tissues when the murder case was dismissed. About two dozens friends and relatives, including his older sister, who helped raise him after his mother died, and his two daughters, who grew up visiting their father in prison, became teary-eyed in the courtroom gallery.

"I'm just thankful and grateful," said Gomez, now 38. "I never gave up hope. ... I need to stay focused now and see what the world brings. ... I just want to be with my family."

Margaret Barajas, 50, the older sister he calls Mom, cried as she hugged her brother. "I always believed in him. I cried out to God to help him, I really did," she said. "I always told my mother I would protect her children."

Alfonso Frank Gomez, 38 is kissed and hugged by his older sister Margaret Barajas in a conference room of the Orange County District Attorney's office inside the Santa Ana Superior Courthouse. Gomez was hoping a judge would let him out of prison, on parole, after new evidence -- uncovered by Santa Ana police detectives during an investigation of a separate 1996 gang killing -- cast “grave doubts” on the accuracy of the testimony from the two eyewitnesses that identified him as the shooter in a 1996 gang-related murder. Gomez has been in custody for 16 years since his arrest, and 14 years since his conviction. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Although he was still in custody Friday morning, Alfonso Gomez, 38, was optimistic that he would be release from prison, on parole, after new evidence cast doubt on his murder conviction. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Alfonso Gomez, Sr., left, hugs his son Alfonso Frank Gomez Jr. in a conference room of the Orange County District Attorney's office inside the Santa Ana Superior Courthouse. Still handcuffed and in custody after 16 years of prison, Gomez, Jr. was hoping that Friday afternoon a judge would release him on parole. New evidence may lead to the dismissal of a murder conviction against him. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Alfonso Gomez, Sr., left, shares a happy moment with his son Alfonso Frank Gomez Jr. in a conference room of the Orange County District Attorney's office inside the Santa Ana Superior Courthouse. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Margaret Brajas, the older sister of Alfonso Frank Gomez, sheds tears as she describes the long years of praying and hoping while her brother sat in prison. Barajas helped raise her younger brother Alfonzo after her mother passed away. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Alyssa Gomez, 20, left, and Alexia Gomez, 16, the daughters of Alfonso Frank Gomez were excited about the dismissal of their father's murder conviction. Both said, although Gomez has been imprisoned all their lives, he has been a good father who never forgot to celebrate all the holidays and birthdays in their lives. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Alyssa Gomez, 20, left, and Alexia Gomez, 16, the daughters of Alfonso Frank Gomez were excited about the dismissal of their father's murder conviction. Both said, although Gomez has been imprisoned all their lives, he has been a good father who never forgot to celebrate all the holidays and birthdays in their lives. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Although he was still in custody Friday morning, Alfonso Gomez, 38, was optimistic that he would be release from prison, on parole, after new evidence cast doubt on his murder conviction. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Alfonso Gomez, Sr., left, listens as his son Alfonso Frank Gomez Jr., right, is interviewed in a conference room of the Orange County District Attorney's office inside the Santa Ana Superior Courthouse. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Friday morning, Alfonso Frank Gomez, 38, stands in Orange County Superior Court hoping that a judge would rule on motions that would release him from custody after spending 16 years in prison for a 1996 murder conviction. New evidence appears to implicate another person as the shooter in the murder. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Although he was still in custody Friday morning, Alfonso Gomez, 38, smiles at the possibility that he might be released from prison, on parole, after new evidence cast doubt on his murder conviction. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Alfonso Gomez, Sr., right, hugs his son Alfonso Frank Gomez Jr. in a conference room of the Orange County District Attorney's office inside the Santa Ana Superior Courthouse. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Alfonso Gomez, Sr., listens as his son Alfonso Frank Gomez, Jr. (not shown) is interviewed in a conference room of the Orange County District Attorney's office inside the Santa Ana Superior Courthouse. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Court-appointed lawyer Erica Gambale has submitted a motion to dismiss the murder conviction of Alfonso Frank Gomez, 38, who has been in prison since his conviction on a gang-related shooting in 1996. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Alfonso Frank Gomez, 38, still in custody at the Superior Courthouse in Santa Ana, waits for motions to be filed to release him from prison after spending 16 years in prison for a murder he has always insisted he didn't commit. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Alonso Frank Gomez prison mugshot COURTESY OF CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

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